Heat and humidity made it feel like 99 in Burlington

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A couple sits in the water at Blanchard Beach at Oakledge Park in Burlington on Sunday, July 1, 2018. he temperature approached 90 degrees by 11 a.m., with the National Weather Service issuing an Excessive Heat Warning in the Champlain Valley through 10 p.m. Monday.The forecast calls for the temperature to top 90 degrees through Thursday. AKI SOGA/FREE PRESS

The temperature approached 90 degrees by 11 a.m., with the National Weather Service issuing an Excessive Heat. A paddleboarder makes her way toward Blanchard Beach at Oakledge Park in Burlington on Sunday, July 1, 2018. Warning in the Champlain Valley through 10 p.m. Monday. The forecast calls for the temperature to top 90 degrees through Thursday. AKI SOGA/FREE PRESS

The temperature approached 90 degrees by 11 a.m., with the National Weather Service issuing an Excessive Heat A paddleboarder makes her way on Lake Champlain by Oakledge Park in Burlington on Sunday, July 1, 2018. Warning in the Champlain Valley through 10 p.m. Monday. The forecast calls for the temperature to top 90 degrees through Thursday. AKI SOGA/FREE PRESS

People began showing up at Blanchard Beach at Oakledge Park in Burlington in the morning as the heat settled in on Sunday, July 1, 2018. The temperature approached 90 degrees by 11 a.m., with the National Weather Service issuing an Excessive Heat Warning in the Champlain Valley through 10 p.m. Monday.The forecast calls for the temperature to top 90 degrees through Thursday. AKI SOGA/FREE PRESS

Paddleboarders navigate between the oil platforms in Lake Champlain off of Oakledge Park in Burlington, Sunday, July 1, 2018. The temperature approached 90 degrees by 11 a.m., with the National Weather Service issuing an Excessive Heat Warning in the Champlain Valley through 10 p.m. Monday.The forecast calls for the temperature to top 90 degrees through Thursday. AKI SOGA/FREE PRESS

Eyob Gizachew of Burlington says the heat doesn't bother him as he skateboards at the A Dog Skatepark on the Burlington waterfront, Sunday, July 1, 2018. The temperature approached 90 degrees by 11 a.m., with the National Weather Service issuing an Excessive Heat Warning in the Champlain Valley through 10 p.m. Monday.The forecast calls for the temperature to top 90 degrees through Thursday. AKI SOGA/FREE PRESS

Eyob Gizachew of Burlington works his skateboard at the A Dog Skatepark on the Burlington waterfront on Sunday, July 1, 2018. The temperature approached 90 degrees by 11 a.m., with the National Weather Service issuing an Excessive Heat Warning in the Champlain Valley through 10 p.m. Monday.The forecast calls for the temperature to top 90 degrees through Thursday.. AKI SOGA/FREE PRESS

Steven Tomczyk of Hudson, New York, takes to the air at the A Dog Skatepark on the Burlington waterfront on Sunday, July 1, 2018. The temperature approached 90 degrees by 11 a.m., with the National Weather Service issuing an Excessive Heat Warning in the Champlain Valley through 10 p.m. Monday.The forecast calls for the temperature to top 90 degrees through Thursday. AKI SOGA/FREE PRESS

Steven Tomczyk of Hudson, New York, takes to the air at the A Dog Skatepark on the Burlington waterfront on Sunday, July 1, 2018. The temperature approached 90 degrees by 11 a.m., with the National Weather Service issuing an Excessive Heat Warning in the Champlain Valley through 10 p.m. Monday.The forecast calls for the temperature to top 90 degrees through Thursday. AKI SOGA/FREE PRESS

If you couldn't stop sweating Tuesday in Northwest Vermont, well, no wonder.

The combination of heat and humidity made it feel like 99 degrees during a portion of the afternoon. This, at a time of year when children are set to return to school.

While a high temperature was not set, the mercury reached 91 degrees on Tuesday, short of a record. But the old phrase, "it's not the heat, it's the humidity," came into play for high school athletes practicing outdoors or people walking Burlington's Church Street Marketplace.

For heat-seekers, the Champlain Valley will remain a destination of choice through Wednesday, forecasters say. Wednesday's high is estimated to reach 87 degrees, the National Weather Service said. The heat index (what it feels like) should be in the low 90s.

High heat and humidity are expected to result in perceived temperatures (heat indices) of up to 100 degrees on Tuesday in the Champlain Valley region, according to the National Weather Service on Aug. 28, 2018.(Photo: Courtesy National Weather Service)

Muggy nights Tuesday and Wednesday will offer little respite from the tropical air mass that has barged into New England, Haynes added.

Relief from the will likely come mid-morning Thursday, he said.

A cooling front, accompanied by scattered thundershowers overnight Wednesday, will put the high temperature Thursday in the low 70s.

Friday morning, the low should be in the mid-50s, or what is commonly referred to as good sleeping weather.

The weather service predicts spotty, "pop-up" showers and thunderstorms over the next few days.

"We might get a tenth of an inch to a third of an inch around the area," Haynes said. "It could be a nice soak, but not a drought-buster."

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The heat index for Burlington — which includes the perceived heat due to humidity — is predicted to approach 100 degrees on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.(Photo: JOEL BANNER BAIRD/FREE PRESS)

Until things cool down, health officials warn that precautions should be taken by people working outside, and for the very young, the elderly and others who might be more vulnerable to excess heat.

Power utilities in the region have asked customers to ease backWednesday on the use of non-essential electric appliances such as dishwashers and clothes dryers during peak afternoon and early-evening hours.

Contact Joel Banner Baird at 802-660-1843 or joelbaird@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @VTgoingUp.